USDA Inspector General Who Refused to Leave Escorted from Office by Security • Hacker News Board

Re: USDA Inspector General Who Refused to Leave Escorted from Office by Security

#51

Post by wslh » Sun, Feb 02, 2025, 3:23 AM UTC

catigula wrote: post #39

_yb2s wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not on the left but I know what fascism is, and this is both the same strategy and same ideology. The only reason I can think of to say it’s not is if you genuinely want fascism- but are worried the negative connotations of the label might prevent it from succeeding. They’re openly using the publicly disclosed strategies of fascist blogger and author Curtis Yarvin for example- he was invited to the inauguration a…

>I know what fascism is It doesn't seem like you do. I think if you're to make a claim, you should substantiate it. Simply calling "Curtis Yarvin", someone with only the most tangential relation to the Trump campaign - and I'm being generous because that's the directive here - a fascist is actually precisely the name-calling I outlined. The next steps are A. You define fascism and your understanding of it specificall…

> Also, it bears mentioning that Curtis Yarvin is a Jew and calling him a fascist has another layer of incredulity attached.

Formally he is not a Jew since his mother is not a Jew but I don't understand what is the point of connecting his ancestors to his ideology.

Re: USDA Inspector General Who Refused to Leave Escorted from Office by Security

#52

Post by catigula » Sun, Feb 02, 2025, 3:25 AM UTC

anthonygd wrote: post #41

_yb2s wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not on the left but I know what fascism is, and this is both the same strategy and same ideology. The only reason I can think of to say it’s not is if you genuinely want fascism- but are worried the negative connotations of the label might prevent it from succeeding. They’re openly using the publicly disclosed strategies of fascist blogger and author Curtis Yarvin for example- he was invited to the inauguration a…

If you know what fascism is then you are nearly alone in the world. Read over the Wikipedia definition of fascism and you'll find it starts with a comparison to "nailing jelly to the wall". The most solid explanation is in this part: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism#Fascist_as_a_pejorativ...

Fascism is when you enforce your country's immigration laws it seems for most people.

Re: USDA Inspector General Who Refused to Leave Escorted from Office by Security

#53

Post by JumpCrisscross » Sun, Feb 02, 2025, 8:42 AM UTC

phonon wrote: post #45

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a bit more than "detailed" "Detailed and case-specific." The case-specific reason can be appointed by my predecessor on such and such date. The law doesn't place any limits on what those reasons can be.

Sure. And it can also be "I don't like how his name was pronounced". What you suppose is a gutting of the law.

> What you suppose is a gutting of the law

It’s not. It’s a gutting of a norm. That’s an important difference. The law provides for independent agencies where the President can’t just fire them. It didn’t provide this cover to the IGs.

Re: USDA Inspector General Who Refused to Leave Escorted from Office by Security

#54

Post by JumpCrisscross » Sun, Feb 02, 2025, 8:43 AM UTC

kcplate wrote: post #50

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which of course isn't likely to happen in this case No. But that's in the hands of the American people. A simple majority in the house to impeach and 67 votes in the Senate to convict. 34 seats are up for election in 2026 [1]. Dems only have 47 seats, and a 20-seat pick-up is almost impossible. But if Indiana, Kansas, Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina and Florida [2] swung, that could convince moderate Republic…

Please let’s not go back to the 2016-2020 impeachment and removal fantasies. The man was impeached twice, once even after his presidency was over and still the American people put him back into office. Also, of note, every time he has run for president he received more votes than prior runs—even in 2020. There is literally only one person who has ever received more votes than Trump and that’s Biden in 2020 and frankl…

> you will need to have 67 democrats as senators

I think impeachment is a long shot. We agree in that Trump’s popularity is what gives him power. If he lost it, one woudln’t need 67 Democratic Senators on Capitol Hill, the GOP would save itself. It’s just difficult to imagine what Trump could do to fuck up that badly.

Re: USDA Inspector General Who Refused to Leave Escorted from Office by Security

#55

Post by markoman » Mon, Feb 03, 2025, 11:37 AM UTC

kcplate wrote: post #50

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which of course isn't likely to happen in this case No. But that's in the hands of the American people. A simple majority in the house to impeach and 67 votes in the Senate to convict. 34 seats are up for election in 2026 [1]. Dems only have 47 seats, and a 20-seat pick-up is almost impossible. But if Indiana, Kansas, Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina and Florida [2] swung, that could convince moderate Republic…

Please let’s not go back to the 2016-2020 impeachment and removal fantasies. The man was impeached twice, once even after his presidency was over and still the American people put him back into office. Also, of note, every time he has run for president he received more votes than prior runs—even in 2020. There is literally only one person who has ever received more votes than Trump and that’s Biden in 2020 and frankl…

Hard disagree on 'forever be an asterisk', if you're referring to the 2020 election itself. You really think a 7 million vote margin leaves room to question this election yet another time after all the audits and Krakens, etc.? Negative sentiment on Trump was strong going into the election, especially considering the economic conditions brought on by COVID. This, being the COVID that he was seen to have mishandled, largely with his own concern at heart, wanting testing curtailed so that ever-higher cases wouldn't hurt his election chances. I guess he loved America so much that he just didn't know how to express it.

Why Trump lost in 2020 and then won in 2024 is clear. Biden's election win was no fluke. The 2024 election was about going with the devil-that-you-know, hoping that kitchen table concerns could be alleviated, and still delivered no landslide (unless you're Stephen Miller).

Just wait until all these Trump voters have to swallow the totality of merely the last 2 weeks of changes (and recissions, in some cases), and they'll find that wanting a bull in a China shop has severe consequences. After 100 days, when actual results will be expected, all the fun Trump & Musk had as they had their way uprooting bureaucrats will be over. As recriminations flow, whether Trump can hold together the crew he started with will be a major question. Interesting times.

Re: USDA Inspector General Who Refused to Leave Escorted from Office by Security

#56

Post by sennalen » Mon, Feb 03, 2025, 3:16 PM UTC

catigula wrote: post #42

coder4life wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just learned about that guy Curtis Yarvin and his "Butterfly Revolution" today "DARK GOTHIC MAGA: How Tech Billionaires Plan to Destroy America" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RpPTRcz1no

That is a very polemical title. It makes me discard the opinion of the author because they present themselves as biased.

"Dark Gothic Maga" is a phrase Elon made up to describe himself, and the video covers Peter Thiel directly saying he wants to destroy America. Watch the damn video.

Re: USDA Inspector General Who Refused to Leave Escorted from Office by Security

#57

Post by kcplate » Mon, Feb 03, 2025, 9:11 PM UTC

markoman wrote: post #55

kcplate wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please let’s not go back to the 2016-2020 impeachment and removal fantasies. The man was impeached twice, once even after his presidency was over and still the American people put him back into office. Also, of note, every time he has run for president he received more votes than prior runs—even in 2020. There is literally only one person who has ever received more votes than Trump and that’s Biden in 2020 and frankl…

Hard disagree on 'forever be an asterisk', if you're referring to the 2020 election itself. You really think a 7 million vote margin leaves room to question this election yet another time after all the audits and Krakens, etc.? Negative sentiment on Trump was strong going into the election, especially considering the economic conditions brought on by COVID. This, being the COVID that he was seen to have mishandled, l…

I am saying that the pandemic caused an statistical outlier election shift that year and Trump’s election in 2024 where the stats sort of reset to baseline makes it seem pretty likely that without the pandemic and with his ability to increase votes in every election, the 2020 election would have been much closer. Frankly with the weak dem field in 2020 and without the pandemic, I would have bet on Trump winning.

I am not sure what the first 100 days of his second term will bring and I will make no dire predictions (literally all of the dire predictions people made in 2016 were wrong). I have never voted for Trump, but I am not tribal enough to automatically assume that everything he does or is doing is bad either. Short of the last 9 months of his first presidency, his first time in office had zero negative impact on me.

Truthfully, my bet is this second term will likely be as equally uneventful…at least for me and my family.